(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cowl structure of a vehicle, and more particularly, to a cowl structure of that vehicle to improves a pedestrian protection performance and a noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) performance.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Generally, a cowl structure coupled with a dash panel that separates an engine compartment and a passenger compartment includes a cowl top panel and a cowl lower panel. The cowl top panel and the cowl lower panel are formed to extend along a width direction of the vehicle. The cowl top panel is coupled to an upper portion of the dash panel and the cowl lower panel is coupled to a lower portion of the dash panel. The cowl structure requires reduction by absorbing an impact energy to protect pedestrians when the vehicle collides with the passenger. Further, the cowl structure provides support for a windshield of the vehicle and must minimize vibration that is transmitted along a vehicle body during acceleration of the vehicle.
In a conventional cowl structure, a cowl supporting member is disposed between the cowl top panel and the cowl lower panel. The cowl supporting member connects the cowl top panel and the cowl lower panel to each other, however an aperture or a notch must be processed for the passenger impact protection. However, the aperture or the notch is insufficient to simultaneously ensure the passenger impact protection performance and NVH performance.
The above information disclosed in this section is merely for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.